Nava v. State
The First DCA affirmed a conviction for failure of a sexual offender to report a change in address, addressing a discrepancy between the information (which ambiguously cited both subsections 943.0435(4)(a) and (4)(b)1.) and a non-standard jury instruction that blended elements of both subsections. Because Nava failed to object at trial and both parties litigated the case as a change-of-address violation under subsection (4)(a), with Nava disputing only whether he moved (not the reporting location), the court held there was no fundamental error.
Key facts
- Nava was charged with failure to report a change of address as a sexual offender under Florida Statute section 943.0435(4), with the information ambiguously citing both subsections (4)(a) and (4)(b)1.
- At trial, the jury received a non-standard instruction that blended elements from both statutory subsections, and Nava's defense focused on whether he had actually moved, not on which reporting location applied.
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Why it matters
This opinion reinforces the narrow scope of fundamental error review for jury instruction/charging document mismatches, emphasizing that courts will look to what was actually disputed and argued at trial rather than… — full analysis with a trial
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